The Cultural Hall Podcast

By Richie T Steadman

A place for members and non-members, mormons and non-mormons to discuss ANYTHING to do with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... more

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How many episodes does The Cultural Hall Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 1,164 episodes available.

Best of The Cultural Hall Podcast

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: This Episode Contains no Sports AoN – 1063
Technical difficulties couldn’t keep this episode down! Richie, Kurt Francom (from Leading Saints), and Verlin the News Wizard are back in the Cultural Hall to hash out the latest happenings inside and outside the Church. From the quirky traditions of LDS wedding receptions to billion-dollar real estate holdings, the guys cover a ton of ground this week with their usual mix of humor, honesty, and insight. What We’re Talking About This Week: Stake Conference Survival: Kurt breaks down his recent “Zion Lab” deep dive into Saturday evening stake conference sessions and how to actually make them engaging. Mormon Wedding Culture: Richie shares his latest weekend gig stories. We’re talking soda bars, insulin shots in the parking lot, and the inexplicable LDS tradition of guys tying their neckties around their heads on the dance floor. Chapel Redesigns: Is the sacrament table moving to the center of the chapel? Plus, a frank discussion on why you won’t find paintings of Jesus inside the actual chapel walls. Salt Lake Temple Volunteers: Want to help out with the Salt Lake Temple grand reopening? The guys talk about the new week-long service shifts available for the big event. Security at Church: A sobering look at safety protocols and concealed carry in meetinghouses following the tragic shooting outside a funeral in Kearns, Utah. Apostles on the Ground: Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Andersen travel to Washington state to minister to communities devastated by recent wildfires. The Church’s Real Estate Empire: Breaking down the recent Bloomberg report on the Church’s massive $20 billion real estate footprint, including planned communities in Florida, Texas, and Colorado. The 25-Minute Training: Initial thoughts on the new, highly condensed Sunday School teacher training videos and why they are causing a bit of a stir. The post This Episode Contains no Sports AoN – 1063 appeared first on The Cultural Hall Podcast.
August 27, 202641min
Number 2: Pig Pickin and cry for help AoN – 1062
In this “Articles of News” episode, Richie and Verlin (our resident News Wizard) are tackling a packed listener inbox, playing a pretty wild Old Testament version of Smooch, Marry, Kill, and breaking down all the biggest stories happening around the Church right now. Banter & The Listener Inbox Verlin is joining us straight from the 1994-era Durham, North Carolina stake office—getting ready for some weekend ward cleaning and a massive “pig pickin'” (smoked pork and banana pudding, anyone?). Meanwhile, Richie recaps a high-energy DJ gig for the Nightingale nursing group and calls out listener Jack Marinello to step up his game in the Facebook comments. Plus, we dive into a great email from Chris about navigating the “Moco” (Mormon Corridor) and the tricky balance of separating actual gospel principles from institutional church culture. Global Church Leadership & Events Happy 94th Birthday to President Oaks! We chat about his first international trip as the 18th President of the Church to dedicate the Belo Horizonte, Brazil temple. We also touch on Elder Patrick Kearon’s powerful message at Education Week to a crowd of 15,000, where he urged everyone to “stop earning their worth.” Also on the docket: Elder Rasband’s MTC address on the current global missionary surge, Elder Villar championing religious freedom down in Peru, and the Institute centennial broadcast out of Johannesburg. Policy, BYU & Institute Updates What do you guys think about the new, 25-minute-shorter Sunday block schedule? We cover that, along with the digital release of 10 joyful new hymns and the new ward-level event RSVP feature rolling out on the app. Over in Provo, Education Week just wrapped up with 16,000 attendees focusing on Charity, and the new BYU School of Medicine announced an upcoming “Christ-Centered Physician” conference. Plus, Seminary and Institute enrollment has officially topped 1 million globally, thanks in large part to the “Invite a Friend” initiative. Culture & Retention Trends We dig into some shifting demographics today, specifically a BYU Studies report on the sharp decline in church retention among Gen Z women. We discuss the commentary pointing to politics, purity culture, and feelings of powerlessness as driving factors. We also look at some interesting Gallup data comparing lower European church participation to the high devotion metrics seen in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Finally, we share a laugh over a story about a YSA who shaved her head just to deter unwanted dates, and we discuss the viral Friend magazine article asking, “Are there any girl bishops?” Question of the Week: We want to hear from you! What was your biggest takeaway from Elder Kearon’s message about slowing down and no longer trying to “earn your worth”? The Cultural Hall, Articles of News, LDS podcast, Mormon Corridor, Smooch Marry Kill, Durham North Carolina, President Oaks, Belo Horizonte temple, Elder Kearon, Education Week, Elder Rasband, religious freedom, church schedule change, new hymns, BYU School of Medicine, Seminary and Institute, Gen Z retention, YSA dating, girl bishops The post Pig Pickin and cry for help AoN – 1062 appeared first on The Cultural Hall Podcast.
August 23, 20261h 0min
Number 3: Bishop Vader, I wish that Gangs were more Respectful
First up, we debate a highly important question: what would your “walk-up” song be for speaking at Stake Conference? We’re throwing out everything from Michael McLean to Usher to the Imperial March. We also share some stories from a genuinely incredible trip on the Rocky Mountaineer train (those glass-dome roofs are top-tier) and countdown the final 90 days of wedding season. (If you still need a DJ, you know where to go: BestDJinUtah.com). We also read an awesome email from a listener in McGrath, Alberta, who took our advice for a Bear Lake trip, which naturally led us into a brand new round of Smooch, Marry, Kill: Villain Edition. If your ward bishop had to be Voldemort, Sauron, or Darth Vader… who are you picking? Then, we get into a pretty heavy and packed Articles of News: The Viral “Darth Vader” Devotional: Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge’s clip about staying in the Church—even if the culture was Alcatraz and Vader was your bishop—went viral. We break down the massive online debate it sparked. Copyrights & Lawsuits: The ACLU just filed an amicus brief in the Mormon Stories lawsuit. We talk about the reality of copyright protection and why this is one of thousands of similar suits filed every year. Arizona Supreme Court: We discuss a very difficult ruling out of AZ determining that clergy are not required to report child abuse disclosed during a confession. Kearns Tragedy: We touch on the heartbreaking news of a deadly shooting outside a local meetinghouse during a funeral. BYU Marriage Stats: The married student population at BYU has plummeted to just 17%. We talk about what’s causing the drop and the school’s new “date night” initiative to fix it. Chapel Layouts: Are the sacrament tables actually moving to the center of the rostrum? The post Bishop Vader, I wish that Gangs were more Respectful appeared first on The Cultural Hall Podcast.
August 19, 20261h 2min
Number 4: Returning Stronger – Brooklyn and Jon Larsen – 1060
On this episode of the Cultural Hall, we’re having a long-overdue conversation about something that affects so many families but doesn’t get talked about enough: returning home early from a mission. We sat down with Jon Larsen and his daughter Brooklyn to get real about their family’s journey through this exact experience. Brooklyn opens up about getting called to the Argentina Rosario Mission, the brutally exhausting travel to the Mexico City MTC, and how running on practically zero sleep quickly spiraled into severe anxiety and OCD. Jon brings a really valuable perspective, not just as a dad trying to support his daughter from thousands of miles away, but also as a mental health professional with 25 years of experience. He talks about the helplessness parents feel and the tricky balance of knowing when a missionary is just facing standard growth struggles versus when they are in a genuine mental or physical crisis. We get into the weeds of the cultural stigma surrounding early returns, how isolating and overwhelming it can feel when you first step off that plane alone, and what members can do to actually help instead of just ignoring the situation. Jon and Brooklyn also share the awesome new resource they’ve built together called Returning Stronger, which offers peer mentoring, coaching, and a six-week course designed to help missionaries and their families transition back to normal life. You can find more info and check out their resources at returningstronger.com. The post Returning Stronger – Brooklyn and Jon Larsen – 1060 appeared first on The Cultural Hall Podcast.
August 18, 20261h 5min
Number 5: Welding Another Link – Nathan Oman – 1059
Welcome back to the Hall! This week, we’ve got legal scholar Nathan Oman hanging out with us to talk about his new book, Welding Another Link (out now from Kofford Books). Instead of one long, heavy academic argument, Nate’s book is a great collection of shorter essays. We get into his own life experiences and chat about what it actually means to live as a person of faith today. We talk about what it was like growing up right here in Salt Lake City, and how he balances those local roots with the wider world. One of my favorite parts of this episode is a great story about Nathan’s friendship with an Orthodox Jewish professor. Nathan actually buys his friend’s alcohol every Passover to help him keep his religious commitments—it’s a fascinating look at how we can bond with people of other faiths. We also get into the story behind the book’s title and why he chose it. Buy the Book And of course, we wrap things up with the traditional three questions! You’ll get to hear about his current calling teaching early morning seminary, his absolute dream calling, and what he loves most about being a Latter-day Saint. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Come hang out with us online, too—just search @theculturalhall on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Threads, and TikTok. Link to Nathan’s Previous Episode 864 The post Welding Another Link – Nathan Oman – 1059 appeared first on The Cultural Hall Podcast.
August 14, 202645min